Coulter Salvages 15th-Place Finish at Chicagoland Speedway

7/22/2012

Joey Coulter and the No. 22 Richard Childress Racing team unloaded a fast Silverado at Chicagoland Speedway for the American Ethanol 225; starting the 150-lap event from the outside pole. The black-and-red Chevrolet showed speed from the start of the 225-mile affair, running in the second position, behind RCR teammate Brendan Gaughan in the early portions of the event. Coulter soon radioed to his crew that the No. 22 Chevrolet had developed a tight-handling condition and it worsened as the run progressed. The crew used pit strategy, throughout the course of the first 100 laps, to ultimately get the Miami Springs, Fla., native, out front, to pace the field three circuits. With less than 50 laps remaining, Coulter collided with a competitor while battling for position which resulted in him making contact with the outside wall and cutting a tire, forcing crew chief Harold Holly to direct his driver to pit road. While under caution, the team utilized two stops to change four tires and work on the sheet metal in order to get Coulter back on the racing surface without losing a lap. Coulter restarted in the 19th position with 40 laps remaining at the 1.5-mile speedway. As cautions plagued the remaining laps of the American Ethanol 225, the 22-year-old continued to fight for track position. Coulter was scored in the 15th position after the checkered flag waved following a green-white-checkered finish. Coulter remains eighth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings, 73 points behind leader Timothy Peters.

Start - 2 Finish - 15 Laps Led - 3 Points - 8

JOEY COULTER QUOTE:
"We definitely had a truck capable of winning tonight at Chicagoland (Speedway). It's disappointing when I know how fast the RCR Chevrolet was all weekend and how hard the crew worked. I learned a lot this weekend and I'm ready to go to Pocono (Raceway) in a couple of weeks and compete for the win."